The four of them went to sleep in good spirits, proud of their victory over the boss and of the tangible progress they were finally starting to make. The Labyrinth held danger and death in abundance, but it also possessed wonders of magic and beauty that shone through the veil of violence. On that night, for the first time since the wayward humans had entered this strange new world, they slept well.
A little too well in Jade's case.
The succubus woke to a comforting warmth enveloping her body. It was accompanied by a heightened, excited beat of her heart and an effervescent tingling. She mumbled something unintelligible, rolling over and hugging a pillow tightly to her chest as she tried to cling to the fading remnants of a half-forgotten dream. The motion brought her legs together which, for some reason, provoked a pleasant sensation to slowly spread through her body. Still half asleep, she squeezed a little tighter, enjoying the…
What…?
Jade came fully awake, awareness returning in a rush. She buried her face in the pillow, deeply embarassed as she realized what she'd been doing. What the hell had that dream been about? She tried to recall it, grasping at details that slipped away like water between her fingers. Something about… her ex-boyfriend? Yes, that was it, she had been dreaming about the trip they'd gone on in her sophomore year at university. And certain… activities… they had done together.
What brought that on…?
Jason hadn't been that good. If he had, she might've actually stuck around… Wait, why was she still thinking about this? Jade flopped onto her stomach, frustrated, willing the intrusive thoughts away. She couldn't remember the last time she'd woken up in the middle of the night feeling like this, it probably hadn't happened since puberty. Was this another succubus thing? It seemed to fit the bill, and she could imagine far worse potential side effects of her transformation, but still… Was this really necessary? It was distinctly embarassing, especially since their party was sleeping in a shared dormitory.
All attempts to banish the unwanted excitement from her body went nowhere. Jade rolled onto her back, frustrated, throwing off the thin sheet that covered her and squeezing her eyes shut.
"Jade…" Naomi mumbled from a nearby bed. "Everything ok…?"
"Fine!" She squeaked, turning away to face the wall. "Just… um… need to use the bathroom."
Jade got up and wrapped herself in the bed sheet, quickly striding from the room. The movement helped, though it did nothing to allay her embarrassment. Now that she was up, though, she found that she really did need to relieve herself. After a quick trip to the sanctuary's bathroom, thankfully it had a proper one, and a splash of cool water to her face, Jade was feeling pretty much back to normal. She returned to the dormitory, quietly passing between her resting companions.
"Stupid body…" she muttered, climbing back into bed.
She didn't have time for silly distractions. Hoping that this experience was just an anomaly of her continuing adjustment to her new form, Jade slipped back to sleep.
----------------------------------------
Damos was present in the library when they woke up the next morning, dressed in his usual immaculate outfit and browsing an aged book. He looked up as Jade walked in with Siora, giving them a nod of greeting.
"Congratulations on defeating your first boss, miss Jade." He said, closing the book and setting it on the table in front of him.
"Thanks." Jade said curtly, moving to one of the room's storage boxes and gathering some supplies for their upcoming journey.
They'd each need to carry a few days’ worth of food and water, in case it took them longer than they expected to find the next sanctuary. Her feelings regarding Damos were conflicted. He had helped her, saved her, even. But he was also a part of this place, party to what the Labyrinth was doing to her home. Jade didn't hate him, but she also couldn't bring herself to completely trust him.
"We're leaving today." Siora said to him, packing her satchel with as many supplies as she could fit. "Journeying to the second floor."
"I wish you safe travels." He inclined his head. "Once you leave the first floor, I will not appear regularly in the sanctuaries that you visit." He spoke to Jade as the rest of the party filed into the room. "My primary task is guiding new wayfarers, and I will continue to attend to them. Should you have questions about the Labyrinth, however, you may call my name. I will come when I can."
"Good to know." Jade nodded. That didn't concern her, they had been running out of questions that Damos was able to answer. As long as they could still find him, they didn't need him around all the time anymore.
She slung her backpack over her shoulder and checked her gear. The bag of mystery now hung from her belt, positioned next to her wand holster. The jury was still out on whether it would be useful, but she was willing to give the odd item a try.
"Ready?" She asked her party.
"Ready." Naomi said. A few tassels hung from the shoulders of her leather armor, colored red and black. Jade had no idea where she had found them, but the simple addition added some flair to her outfit. Why that was a priority for her, though, Jade couldn't fathom.
Siora and Luis nodded, and Jade led the way outside. Damos watched them depart, a pensive expression on his aged face.
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"Jade." He spoke just as she opened the door. The succubus paused, glancing back. "Did the Level Key you received from the boss have anything engraved on it? A message?"
Jade paused, one hand on the latch.
"No, why?" She withdrew the key from her pack, inspecting it again. It certainly didn't appear to contain a message of any sort.
"I was merely curious, pay it no heed."
Shrugging, she stowed the key. She had no intention of forgetting the cryptic question and filed it away to reflect on later.
Jade opened the door, letting a ray of warm sunlight into the dim library. A fresh breeze blew through the opening, caressing her face and tousling her hair. Jade stepped through, emerging near the lakeside shore. It was a beautiful day, warm and windy, and she took a moment to tie her hair up in a tail to help keep it out of her face.
"Thanks for the help, amigo." Luis said with a wave as they left. "See ya around."
The sanctuary door closed behind them, leaving them standing at the boundary of jungle and water. Jade lifted her hand, examining her shifting wayfarer mark. She tapped it with a finger, and a small illusory arrow appeared floating above the symbol. It pointed towards the opposite side of the valley, in the general direction of the waterfall.
"That 'Pathfinder' spell we get at level seven comes with a compass function." Jade said, holding up her hand for everyone to see. "I read through it this morning."
"That's helpful." Naomi said. "Which way does it point?"
"Inward." Jade replied, tapping her mark again to dismiss the arrow.
"I suppose you don't need the directions I got from Juniper, then." Siora sounded a little crestfallen.
"Nothing wrong with a backup plan." Luis said. "Like my Uncle Carlos always said, 'always plan for your plan B to be your plan A'."
Jade considered that for a moment.
"You know… I can't argue with that one." She looked around, taking in the surrounding jungle. They'd stayed here for several days, and she had started getting used to it. "I might miss this place a little."
"I won't." Naomi shuddered. "Too many spiders."
"The small ones weren't so bad." Jade protested. "I liked them. They remind me of my childhood."
"What kind of messed up childhood did you have?" Naomi muttered under her breath.
"I heard that." Jade rolled her eyes. "I just really liked my pet, OK? There's nothing wrong with that." She defended her long lost tarantula.
"It's ok." Siora consoled her. "We have creatures kind of like these 'spiders' near my village! They build nests instead of webs, and have a few more legs, but I think you'll like them."
"Those sound awful!" Naomi looked horrified.
"Oh, they're very useful." Siora smiled obliviously. "Their mucus has many important alchemical properties."
"…Are you sure you need to go home?"
Jade couldn't help but laugh. Grinning, she led the party around the lagoon, setting an inward course towards the next floor.
The journey out of the valley was mostly uneventful, consisting of a few hours of walking and the occaisional brief battle with the resident river snappers, the turtle monsters that they had spent the past few days practicing their combat tactics on. By the time they found a trail up the cliff near the waterfall, Jade and Luis had finished part two of their monster hunting quest. The awarded experience pushed her a good amount of the way towards level eight, but she still had a ways to go. They also gained a couple hundred additional crescent coins, as well as another follow up quest.
* New Quest: The Hunt Begins - Part 3
* Monsters roam the Astral Labyrinth. It's time to show them that you aren't someone they want to mess with.
* Objective: Slay 250 Labyrinth monsters. This quest cannot be failed or refused.
* Reward: Medium experience gain.
* Reward: 300 Crescent coins
Jade was the first to reach the top of the path leading up the embankment beside the waterfall. The jungle continued here, sprawling out in every direction and bisected by a swiftly flowing river that cascaded over the cliff beside her, splashing down into the lagoon below. She had only taken a few steps away from the ledge when a new notification appeared.
* System Notice
* Now entering 'Serene River' Quadrant, 'Verdant Jungle' Zone, Area #423,989
The rushing river wasn't exactly what Jade would call 'serene', but she kept the thought to herself as they pressed on. The jungle wasn't quite as thick here, and progress was easy. The 'Pathfinder' spell indicated that to travel inward they would have to find a way to cross the river at some point, so Jade kept the party close to the shore where they could keep an eye out for a good spot to try fording the waterway.
Late morning shifted to afternoon without major incident. They did encounter a new type of monster, though, a type of large snake that had an annoying habit of dropping out of trees right into their midst. After the first jump scare, which involved a frightened Naomi bludgeoning one of the creatures to death with her guitar, they proceeded a little more cautiously. Fortunately, these monsters weren't especially dangerous, attacking mainly by constricting their foes in their powerful coils. The process took long enough to start dealing real damage that the party dispatched them before much harm was done to anyone.
They took a break for lunch and to rest for a while, and Jade took the opportunity to practice her shapeshifting skills. She was finally starting to really get the hang of it, a welcome change after the 'two steps forward, one step backward' experience she'd been having.
What helped the most was finding a spot on the riverbank where she could see her reflection in the water. The visual feedback allowed her to connect the feel of the power to its actual results and, by the time they were ready to resume trekking through the jungle, she was able to shift her appearance at will, albeit far from instantly.
Her newfound proficiency meant that she could adopt any normal human female form, if she stayed within the fairly narrow limits that governed how much she could alter her weight. Her experiments attempting to adopt a male body ended in failure, although she wasn't sure if that was due to a limitation of the power or her own inexperience with visualizing the appropriate physiology. With assistance from Siora she did manage to recreate something akin to an elven form, but she would need a little more practice on that front.
When the sun began to set Siora used her superior skills in woodcraft to find them a good spot to camp for the night. A small clearing in a thicket of brambles proved to be the best place to settle down. It was dry, hidden from view, and large enough for the four of them. Without bedrolls or tents they were left sleeping on the ground using bunched up clothing as pillows, a far cry from the comfort they had enjoyed the past few nights. Unfortunately, their attempts to remove bedding linens from the library sanctuary hadn't worked, the material dissolving to smoke upon exiting the portal.
Jade found that she wasn't overly bothered by the lack of comfort, it just seemed so trivial compared to the magnitude of their quest. If camping in the wilderness would be a common occurrence in the Labyrinth, though, they would need to equip themselves properly for it. Fighting monsters was a task best done after a good night's sleep.
It was relief enough just to take off her armor, the long day of hiking had left all of them sweaty and worn out. Jade settled against a tree, glad her skin could finally breathe again. She closed her eyes. Some time to relax would be nice.
"Jade?" Naomi's voice came from across the small clearing.
Or not.
"Yes?" she said wearily, opening her eyes again.
"I know we've been busy, but I don't want to put this off any longer." Naomi stepped in front of her. She paused briefly, and then continued. "I'm taking you up on your offer. I want to know what your enchantments feel like."