Jasper Hemlock's spell of night vision was finally kicking in after a moment of adjustment. He scanned the cave from wall-to-wall, noting every stray bone and full skeleton that littered the surrounding area. He stood still as a statue, in a half-crouch, expecting some sort of golem or spectral being to take offence at his arrival.

He was pleased that he didn't hear any menacing groans or chilling howls, though he had forgone a spell of acute hearing in favor of the night vision. He grinned and straightened before flinching at the sound of a scream from behind him.

Jasper heard something tumbling towards him, coming from the mouth of the cave up the steep slope behind him. There was a scraping of dirt and a clattering of pebbles before he was struck in the back of the legs and toppled over. He coughed as he was surrounded by a cloud of dust.

"Jasper, I'm so sorry!" came a call from the bundle that had just collided with him.

"Artie, we haven't even been here five minutes," Jasper grumbled. "Trying to get us killed on the double?"

"Oh, Heavens no!" For as big as he was, Artie Gibberton was on his feet in an instant and helping Jasper to stand.

Jasper dusted off the front of his robe and asked, "What happened?"

"I just lost my footing is all," Artie replied between breaths. He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder and added, "That's really steep!"

"That's why I told you to get a pair of these boots." He indicated his own feet, clad in sturdy leather footwear.

"Oh, I know," Artie groaned, "but these slippers are traditional for wizards like us... Just like the hat." He pointed to his head, where no hat was to be found.

Jasper cleared his throat and knelt down to retrieve his friend's hat. "You dropped your tradition on the way down."

"Thanks... I wish you'd put a little more stock in tradition, Jasper." Artie knocked the dirt off his pointy hat and put it on, adjusting it to find the right position.

"Uh-huh," Jasper replied absent-mindedly, turning away from his friend while he pushed his spectacles further up his nose.

"I'm serious."

"I hear you." In fact, Jasper had heard this from Artie several times in the past.

"But are you listening?"

"Same as ever."

Artie sighed and pulled out his wand.

"We can talk about it later. For now, stick close. Stories say the artifact isn't far, but there could be traps."

Artie groaned.

The two young wizards weaved their way carefully through the stalagmite and stalactite formations that jutted like rows of razor-sharp teeth. Bones - some old and some fresh - had to be navigated carefully so as not to make noise in snapping them or sending them clattering across the ground. They paused periodically to listen. Water could be heard dripping from somewhere in the darkness, but the rest was silence.

The cave began to widen further up, forming an open room. Skeletons still littered the ground. At the far end was a simple stone pedestal.

"Sconces on the wall," Jasper said, before drawing his wand and flicking it four times, sending small blasts of fire to each sconce.

"What are you doing?" Artie asked, shielding his eyes while his night vision spell wore off.

"What?" Jasper asked, squinting at his friend.

"How did you know you didn't have to light them in sequence, or else some horrendous blade would shoot out of the wall and take off our heads?"

"Oh." Jasper shrugged. "I didn't really think about it."

"It's bad enough we have to be here; how about some concern for our safety?"

"All right, all right... Would you like to take the lead?"

Artie gulped. "No, just... just be more careful, okay?"

"There it is!" Jasper stepped forward, but forced himself to move carefully.

Artie moved with him, but kept his head on a swivel, as Jasper affixed himself on the shining gold medallion resting in a stone holder carved into the pedestal.

"Today's the day, my friend," Jasper said, grinning.

"I don't like the look of this place."

"What? Why not?"

Artie motioned all around them. "Maybe the skeletons?"

"I'm sure they're just having a nap." Afraid to waste more time, Jasper moved carefully toward the pedestal, keeping an eye out for traps.

While Artie was a nervous wreck, Jasper could barely contain his excitement. Months of searching every cave and dungeon they could find had been fruitless. Each place had been sacked and pilfered long ago, with nothing but skeletons left - much like this one. But Jasper could feel that today was the day. The medallion was just before him. He only had to reach...

"Wait!" Artie said, grabbing Jasper's arm.

"What now?" Jasper asked.

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"Do you not see the skeleton on the ground? In front of the pedestal? God's man, you're practically stepping on him!"

Jasper looked down and nodded. "And he's wearing the same slippers and hat as you."

Artie gasped and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Relax. It's good for us that he's dead. He had to have set off the last trap. He's right here at the pedestal!"

Artie groaned and dismissed him with a wave of his hands. "Fine. Just grab the thing so we can get out of here."

Jasper grinned and snatched the medallion without hesitation. Artie looked all around, awaiting a murderous trap to be activated. Jasper's eyes gleamed as he inspected the gold disc. He turned it over in his hand and rubbed it with his thumbs.

The grooves in the medallion suddenly lit up bright blue - like glitter swirling through the gold. It shimmered and basked Jasper in blue light. He furrowed his brow and Artie looked over his shoulder with wide eyes.

"Did you cast something?" Artie asked.

"No." Jasper shook his head. "Just started glowing."

"Put it back!"

"No!" Jasper elbowed his friend gently in the gut to push him away. "We need this!"

"We can find something else. This is dangerous."

"There is nowhere else, Artie. Every place has been picked clean. You know that."

"I don't like this..."

"What's new? C'mon, let's get out of here - with the prize."

Before they turned to leave, Jasper felt something bump his foot. He looked down and found the skeleton twitching, the arms and legs jerking back and forth. A foot tapped Jasper's boot and he stepped back. The medallion in his hand grew warm and began vibrating. The skeleton shifted more, moving to a sitting position and attempting to get on it's feet. A bright blue light emanated from within it's eye sockets.

The medallion grew warmer - almost hot - and the vibrating turned to pulsing. The blue shimmering began to flash in time with the pulsing. Jasper looked down, brows furrowed, and gasped when the golden disk suddenly broke into several pieces before disintegrating to dust between his fingers in a poof of blue smoke.

The skeleton before him slowly rose, raising up by gripping the pedestal with bony fingers. Jasper backed up another step into what felt like a brick wall - Artie, frozen still. He yelped, shifted, but wouldn't move. Jasper saw around his friend every skeleton in the cave was climbing to their feet, eye sockets glowing blue.

"You're the death of me, Jasper!" Artie cried.

"You say that every time, Artie," Jasper replied with a chuckle. Things didn't look good, but he had to keep Artie calm.

"And now look! You've finally done it!"

"Maybe they're friendly."

"Put the medallion back!"

"It's gone."

"What?"

"Draw your wand. We'll die fighting."

Artie groaned, but followed his friend's lead. Jasper whipped his wand around as quickly as he could, sending bolts of lightning arcing through the air. The electricity danced from one skeleton to the next and the bones blew apart in all different directions.

Artie used a shockwave spell that threw the undead on their backs. Some clattered on the ground while others broke against the stalagmites. He began to panic when the foes he faced begun to rise.

Jasper joined his side and blasted the ceiling with the shockwave spell. The stalactites rumbled before breaking grip and dropping like stone lances. The skeleton's crumbled beneath the onslaught.

"Thanks," Artie said, panting.

"You had the right idea. Let's get out of here."

Jasper patted his friend on the shoulder and started running. Before he could make it three steps, he tumbled to the ground as the entire cave began to tremor. As Jasper was pushing himself up, a stalactite came crashing down in front of his face. He screamed and covered his head.

Artie lifted him to his feet and pushed him forward. The rumbling of the earth grew worse as pebbles and dust fell. Jasper tucked his wand back into it's small leather scabbard and bolted forward to the entrance.

Not only did the young wizards have to dodge stalagmites on the ground, but more and more stalactites came careening down to explode in bits of stone. Several more skeletons were blown to bits by the falling projectiles. The two of them bobbed and weaved as they sprinted for the mouth of the cave. Jasper made it to the exit and looked back to see Artie some distance back - and struggling. Not only did his gut impede him, but also those damn slippers!

Jasper grit his teeth as he watched Artie fall. He ran to his friend and cast a lightning bolt with one smooth drawing of his wand, obliterating a stalactite on course to impale his friend. Pebbles showered around them as Jasper helped Artie to his feet and they kept running.

The two of them leapt into the open air as the mouth of the cave collapsed, sealing it's secrets inside. Jasper slumped with his hands on his knees while Artie lay on the ground gasping for air.

"Jasper," Artie said, wheezing, "I think I'm done with caves and tombs for a while..."

Jasper frowned at the crumbled cave entrance and replied: "I'm gonna buy you a pair of boots."

----------------------------------------

Jasper dropped into his chair and rubbed his eyes. he held a sigh inside while Artie blurted out details of their adventure. He adjusted his spectacles and looked from Artie to Cerana. She looked up at Artie - who stood beside her bed, too excited to sit - with a kind smile and attentive eyes. How did she do it?

She looked good today. The nurse had told them before they entered her room that she had felt strong enough for a bath - with assistance, of course. Her brown hair had been washed and brushed and smelled like peaches. While she was gone, someone had put fresh linens on the bed.

It was good to see her this way, but Jasper still had trouble faking a smile. He looked down and brushed some dust off his robe. He stopped, realizing it might not be good for Cerana.

She laughed and it pulled Jasper out of his thoughts. Artie was grinning and adjusted his hat. Cerana looked at Jasper and shook her head, eyes shining with cheer. "You can't do that," she said.

"What?" Jasper asked, raising his eyebrows. "I missed what you said."

"The hat and slippers are tradition! You can't make him get rid of them!" She and Artie started laughing.

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Oh, not this again. They're old-fashioned, ugly, and impractical!"

"You just wanna be stubborn."

"Yeah, Jasper, all the greatest wizards in history wore these," Artie said.

"Yeah, and they're all dead, too. I'm not saying the hat and slippers are the cause, but they all had those in common," Jasper said, scowling.

Cerana and Artie laughed again, and Jasper smiled.

"Seriously, though, I wish you guys didn't do all this dungeoneering. You're gonna get killed, or at the very least hurt. I don't want either of you to be trapped in this infirmary with me." Cerana gave them both a stern look.

Artie shuffled his feet and looked to Jasper. After a moment, Jasper chuckled and shrugged, saying, "It keeps life exciting! We'll be fine."

Cerana didn't smile this time. She looked down at her hands, folded on top of the blanket covering her legs. She was silent for several moments, and Jasper could tell she was fighting off tears.

"Administrator Boyle came to see me today," she said.

Jasper's heart sank and when he looked to Artie, he saw the same fear in his eyes.

"He said that if the cleric's can't heal me within the month, I'll be expelled."

"That bastard," Jasper muttered.

"He said it's been too long and they can't give me any more extensions."

"We'll get the money somehow," Artie said.

"That doesn't even matter anymore. What good is a sickly, bed-ridden wizard, anyway? The clerics can't heal me, and I don't know what to do." She finally shed a tear.

"Don't give up, Cerana," Artie said. "We'll figure something out."

"I truly appreciate what you guys have tried to do, but no amount of money will help."

Artie grabbed her hand and squeezed. Cerana smiled at him, but it quickly vanished. "Do you need anything right now?"

Cerana shook her head. "You guys should go. You'll be late for class."

Artie squeezed her hand again and walked around the bed. As Jasper stood, Cerana grabbed the sleeve of his robe and pulled him down to whisper in his ear.

"I'm serious, Jasper - stop with the treasure hunting. It won't help me any more."

Jasper grinned and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm not kidding, Jasper Hemlock. You'll get Artie killed... And it will be because of me."

Jasper stared into her green eyes. His expression turned stolid. "I'll protect him - and you."