Chapter 136

They had traveled upwards through the basement floors until they finally reached floor 1. The cooking station was exactly as they had left it and they rearranged the benches so that everyone had somewhere to sit. Jay and M'redith shared a bench but were too tired to do much else.

The aroma of molten cheese filled the space as Aiden opened up a foil wrapped pouch. He removed a sandwich before tearing it in to five portions and handing them out to the group.

Carly took hers with a smile, “Thank you, Aiden.”

M'redith watched Carly eat. She had been quiet since her last outburst and hadn't really engaged the group in conversation since. “So what do you think Carly, so far I mean, I know we're not done yet.”

“Think about what?” Carly asked after she had finished chewing and swallowed a bite of her grilled cheese portion.

“Dungeon running. Is it what you expected?” M'redith asked carefully.

Carly shook her head, “It has all the things I expected – traps, monsters, treasure – but the stress of being in here is a bit of a surprise. I hadn't expected it to feel so...oppressive.”

Norri nodded. “I feel that too sometimes. The danger can get to you if you let it. I just focus on what I'm doing and try not to worry about what comes next.”

Carly smiled at Norri's comment. It made her think that what she was feeling was ok, and normal.

Aiden shrugged, “All I feel is hungry. We need more sandwiches.”

Jay grinned but didn't argue. “I could use more food, I can't argue with that. Next time we really need to bring better snacks.”

“Snacks?!” Carly asked a bit scandalized. Dungeons were for fighting! Not for...snacks.

“Sure. If we have to be in here we might as well have snacks.” Jay said with a foolish grin. Aiden nodded in agreement while Norri chuckled.

Even M'redith shrugged, “I could use a snack. Fighting makes me hungry.”

The group talked about food for a few minutes along with what they would buy with their two silver when they got back to K'tharkle. Finally however they could put it off no longer.

M'redith stood up and helped Jay to his feet. “Time to move on. Everyone check your gear and let's form up.”

Everyone stood and helped check each other's armor. Jay checked M'redith's but was surprised when he checked the leg that she had gotten pierced earlier by the spider's leg. The armor was intact – there was no hole in the armor where the spider's leg would have had to pass through in order to strike M'redith's calf muscle.

“How'd that happen?” Jay asked M'redith.

“What do you mean?” she asked without turning.

“Your armor doesn't have any holes in it where there should be holes from the attack you took. Hey Aiden, was her calf pierced when you healed it?” Jay asked over his shoulder towards where Aiden was standing and checking over Carly's armor.

“Sure did, was pretty nasty actually. Took me three attempts to plug it up.” Aiden replied.

“Did her armor have holes in it when you healed her?” Jay asked.

“No idea. I wasn't looking at her armor. Sorry.” Aiden answered with a shrug.

M'redith looked at Jay after he finished checking her over. “What are you thinking?” she asked him.

“I'm thinking you're lucky to be alive – we all are.” Jay said as he thought it over.

“How so?” Norri asked.

Carly gasped as she figured it out. Jay smiled but nodded, “You tell them.”

Carly looked disturbed by what she had thought of. “It's a special combat mechanic – when an attack ignores armor it passes right through it without making contact with it. The boss's leg attacks must ignore armor.”

M'redith went a little white but didn't say anything.

Aiden pursed his lips. “So we basically just fought a boss while our armor provided us zero protection? Like fighting naked?”

Carly nodded.

“M'redith was right. That boss wasn't easy. We were just lucky.” Norri said after a moment of silence had passed. The others all made sounds of agreement as they each replayed the fight in their head and realized how badly things could have ended up for them.

After a few moments M'redith felt the need to get the group moving again. “Everyone up. Time to move. Let's stack up at the stairs. We're going up this time, let's see what the second floor has in store for us.”

Everyone got up and lined up near the stairs. First M'redith, then Norri, then Aiden, then Jay, and finally Carly. They walked up the stairs carefully until they hit the second floor.

The stairs ended on the second floor. They would need to find another stairway up if they wanted to go further.

They were in a long room. Their side of the room held only the winding staircase leading downward. Next to it on the wall was written 2F in large letters. A single narrow beam led across a pit to the other side, the beam suspended five feet above the pit's surface. The pit held a dark tar like sludge that twinkled in the light from the torches lining the walls. On the far side they could make out a ledge with a single door to exit the area.

“Ok. This is a first.” Jay said to himself but loud enough for everyone else to hear him.

“How so?” M'redith asked without turning around while she continued to survey the pit in front of her.

“It's an agility test. We have to get across the pit or fall in. Falling in looks like it would be incredibly unpleasant so I'd try to avoid that if we can.” Jay said with a smirk.

“It can't be that bad, can it?” Aiden asked as he pushed to the front to better make out the pit and its contents.

Jay fumbled around in his pack until he found what he was looking for.

Jay flipped a single copper coin in to the air in a parabolic arc, the coin finally landing with a solid squelch in the black muck. Immediately the coin began to fizzle and dissolve in to a bubbling froth. It took mere seconds for the coin to be rendered down to a liquid state.

“Goddess.” Aiden said simply as the others watched on in horror.

“Wait – so we have to walk across that thin beam? Are you insane?” Carly said a bit breathlessly as her eyes widened.

Jay and M'redith's heads swiveled towards her at the same time and Carly realized that she was panicking. She made a conscious effort to slow her breathing while she focused on just her breath. Finally she managed to push the panic back and looked back up at Jay and M'redith.

“It's ok!” Norri said from off to the side. “You don't have to walk! You can crawl! I can show you.”

Carly sighed, “I know how to crawl. I just don't want to dissolve.”

“You know how to crawl across a thin beam?” Norri insisted.

“Well..no. You just crawl, right?” Carly answered.

“Nope. Here, I'll show you,” Norri said as she readjusted her pack for better balance. She tied off her staff to her pack so that it wouldn't dip in to the muck when she went across.

Norri lay down on the beam with her head pointing towards the far side. With her stomach pressed up against the beam she extended one leg behind her and placed it alongside the beam. Her other leg she curled around the beam. One arm she curled around the beam while the other went straight out parallel to the beam.

Using her extended arm she dragged her body forward while she used her extended leg to help push her body along. She used her arm and leg curled around the beam to keep her balanced. It wasn't fast and it wasn't graceful. She gasped and muttered and made odd noises as she slowly inched her way across. It took her five minutes but she did it.

Finally at the other side she rolled off of the beam and fell to the floor with a thump where she stayed, her arms splayed out to the sides. “That was exhausting!” she moaned before her head popped up and looked across the pit over at Carly. “But easy! It was easy! You can do it Carly!” she said as she cheered her on.

Carly had been transfixed by Norri's trip across the pit. Numerous times she thought that Norri would fall but Norri never let go of the beam. When she got tired or didn't feel like her grip was good enough she paused and readjusted until her positioning was right. Only then would she move along.

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“My turn!” Aiden said and ran past Jay, jumped on to the beam, and ran across its entire length without pause. Norri watched in horror as Aiden arrived at her side of the room and jumped down to the ground next to Norri's prone figure.

“What in Goddess' name was THAT?!” Norri yelled.

“What?” Aiden asked with a very confused look on his face as he held his arms up next to him.

“You stupid boy! You could have gotten yourself hurt or killed! You're our only healer! We wouldn't be able to heal you if you fell and got hurt!” she yelled as she got up and struck Aiden's chest with one tiny fist.

It didn't hurt but it hurt his feelings. A little. Aiden was about to jokingly reply but took a closer look at Norri's facial expression first and realized that she was really upset. She was looking at him with a mixture of horror, concern, and barely contained fury. She had been honestly worried for him.

Aiden felt badly about it and hurried to explain, “It's ok, really! I grew up running across log bridges and trees barely wider than that beam. I'm in no more danger of falling off that beam than I am just walking normally down a hallway. My balance is really good!” he insisted as he continued speaking in a constantly flowing explanation of how amazing his balance was.

Norri gradually was convinced before she finally looked embarrassed at her outburst. She looked flustered at his explanation. She didn't apologize but said instead, “You scared me! Don't do that!”

Aiden nodded seriously. “I'm sorry,” he apologized even though it was Norri that had hit him. “I didn't know it would upset you so much. I'll try to be more careful from now on, ok?” he said haltingly. Apologies weren't his strong suit but for Norri he'd work at it.

Norri nodded before she finally gave Aiden a tiny smile. Aiden gave her a side hug which she accepted gracefully.

“We're all good here! Send the next one across!” Aiden yelled after the hug ended.

Norri looked like she had been mollified and yelled across as well. “Carly! Come on over! You can do it!”

Carly looked at Norri like she was crazy. Carly was not sure that she could do it. The alternative was almost too embarrassing to contemplate though. If she couldn't go across then she would have to go back. Not something that would do any good for her reputation.

Sure, it happened, sometimes an adventurer just couldn't manage part of a dungeon. People would be understanding out loud, but in the privacy of their own minds they would place her at the end of the line should they ever go looking to fill a spot for a dungeon run.

In short – she either crawled to the other side or she could kiss any real chance of an adventuring career goodbye.

Jay and M'redith helped her secure her belongings so that they wouldn't touch the muck when she crossed. They helped her get on to the beam and arrange her arms and legs so that she'd be able to copy Norri's earlier crossing.

“Slow and steady! Focus on your movements, nothing else!” Norri yelled across before going quiet but smiling encouragingly, her hands clasped in front of her.

Carly held the beam with her extended arm and dragged her body forward as her rear leg pushed her along. Her other arm and leg kept a death grip on the beam itself. It wasn't enough and Carly had to constantly monitor her weight distribution so that she didn't tip over to the left or right of the beam.

Everyone went quiet to give her a better chance at concentrating. Carly's body slowly shimmied forward. Soon her body was no longer over solid ground but instead was held suspended over the pit of black nastiness, whatever it may be.

Carly pulled and pushed her body along but encountered a fresh new threat. Perspiration. Her own body sweat, a mixture of stress, fear, anxiety, and physical exertion began to soak her clothing – not a problem necessarily. The real problem was her hands. Slick with sweat her only option was to wipe her hand clean on her armor. This required her to move her arms from their prepared positions to a spot much closer to her body. This in turn made it more difficult to keep her balance centered over the beam.

She wobbled precariously and instantly grabbed the beam with both hands and legs.

“It's ok Carly! You're doing great! Now listen to my voice – you can't hold the beam like that – you'll end up falling! Wipe your hands one at a time but then you need to go back to how you started, ok?” Norri yelled at the panicked Carly.

Carly breathed heavily and tried to slow her breathing down but it didn't work.

“Focus! Focus on your movement!” Norri yelled.

Carly would have nodded if the motion wouldn't have sent her plummeting in to the pit below. Instead she said “Ok” in a barely audible voice. She very slowly managed to wipe both of her hands until they were once again dry. Then she slowly extended one arm and the opposite leg until she was in the same pose that she had started with.

Carly used one hand and one leg to pull and push herself further along the beam. Her pace picked up as she tried to go faster.

“Easy Carly! Focus but keep a steady pace! Slow is smooth! Smooth is fast! Easy does it! You're doing so great!” Norri called out to Carly from the other side of the long room.

Carly paused for a moment to catch her breath but took Norri's advice and tried to go slow and make smooth motions instead of jerking her arm about. Gradually she got in to a rhythm but was forced to take frequent breaks to wipe the sweat off of her hands.

She had made it to the middle of the beam but no one said anything, allowing her to focus on her movements and weight distribution.

It took her a very long time to get across compared to Norri's journey. Thankfully with the way she was positioned she could lay on her stomach for as long as she wanted to rest up before moving again. Once she made it over solid ground however she fell off the beam just as Norri had and stayed where she fell with her arms splayed out.

“Now I get why you fell off the beam and didn't get back up. Ugh. That was horrible! I'm soaked in sweat now!” Carly complained from her position on the floor.

Everyone congratulated her on a job well done and she was momentarily overcome by the praise. Aiden gave her a hand and helped her to her feet. They walked over to the closed door and sat down next to Norri who again congratulated Carly.

“I knew you could do it! What did I tell you!” Norri said brightly with a cheery smile directed at Carly.

Carly smiled, “Thank you. I hope we never have to do that again.”

Aiden and Norri went quiet.

“What? What is it?” Carly asked, concerned.

“Uh..you know we have to come back this way when we're finished, right?” Aiden asked hesitantly.

Carly groaned and went white, “I don't want to do that again!”

Norri laughed kindly, “It's ok. It gets easier every time! And you did great! You got across safe and sound and you can do it again. It might not be fun but it is doable, right?” she asked Carly with a concerned expression.

Carly nodded. “Sure. I mean, right. Goddess why put a balance test in a dungeon!?”

Aiden chuckled, “At least it wasn't snakes. Or more spiders. As long as you pay attention to what you're doing you'll be fine. Like Norri said, you did great.”

Carly smiled as Jay arrived. He had crawled across as well. M'redith arrived just behind him, Carly missed seeing how she had traveled across the beam. Carly wondered if she had run as Aiden had. Carly couldn't decide if Aiden was a showoff or just impulsive.

“Great job everyone! We made it! Hey Jay, you mind if we take a break for some aura cleanings? I think we could all use a bit of freshening up.” M'redith asked Jay sweetly.

Jay laughed at her sugary tone of voice, “Of course.” He immediately activated his Tropical Island Aura. Jay brought up the description for the ability while it went to work on Jay's and M'redith's bodies and belongings.

Tropical Island Aura (rare)– When in use the caster is surrounded in a 6 foot in diameter aura that constantly keeps the user clean. The user's body as well as outfit will no longer get dirty. Should it come in to contact with something dirty the filth falls right off, unable to stick to the user or their clothing.

The aura comes complete with ocean breeze scent and may affect one other person so long as that person stays within the aura for thirty seconds. Auras may stay active as long as the user chooses. Can keep user dry in light rain. Can dry off user completely in 30 seconds.

Jay grinned, he couldn't help it. Tropical Island Aura was one of his favorite abilities – it was one of his friend's favorites as well. Anyone who was given the opportunity to try it out found it marvelous and ended up feeling a bit put out that they didn't have an ability like that themselves.

Of course most of the people who Jay used the aura on were combat focused and had abilities that did damage or helped out in a fight. Jay's abilities tended to help out outside of a fight, which was a rarity it seemed.

M'redith sighed loudly and grinned as she stepped back looking as clean as one possibly could. Her hair especially had a volume and bounce to it that normally would require a number of hair products and an hour of primping. She sat up against a wall outside of the aura's range to make room for the next person.

The group cycled through one by one but no one was as happy as Carly was to receive the aura cleaning. She had sweat more than the others combined due to her fear and anxiety and her clothing was a mess not to mention her hair, which was plastered to her scalp, her curls tangled. A festival of motes of light danced around her as any filth or grime vanished in to specks of light. It was a vivid display compared to the normal one and Carly grinned.

“I must have been extra dirty I guess?” she said with a self-deprecating smile.

“Not you. Just your skin and clothes,” Aiden insisted with a smile and a wink. “And now you look great!” he insisted as Norri nodded in agreement. They were both trying to keep things positive for Carly and it was working.

Carly grinned. Her robe looked softer than Jay remembered it looking and was a bit fluffier. Carly's skin practically glowed. Her hair was a radiant red with bouncy curls that framed her face perfectly. She looked gorgeous.

M'redith didn't say anything and Jay grinned. Next up was Aiden who took his 'aura bath' without comment. Norri went last and was done the fastest – she was also the smallest of the group.

“Now THAT is better. How's everyone feeling?” M'redith asked as she clapped her hands once to get everyone's attention.

Everyone sighed. They all felt great. Relaxed.

Jay took a moment to check the door for traps. The door turned out to be clean, or at least Jay couldn't find anything. “It's clear.” he said.

Aiden looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Jay chuckled. “It's clear probably.”

The others all laughed.

“Ok! Let's see what lies behind this door!” M'redith said encouragingly as the group got back in to line.

They lined up in their usual order and M'redith looked back at Jay. “Hey, you guys remember this?” she asked as she kicked the door once, then twice, then grinned.

“Goddess, Ashagi was scary! I'm glad we got out of there.” Norri commented from just behind M'redith.

“It was scary but fun. I'm glad we went!” Jay said with a smile.

“Ok, I'm done chattering. Just reminded me of Ashagi for a minute. Let's head in.” M'redith said. She carefully opened the door and led her group further in to the dungeon.