Kelly and her duo of pals spread out, searching the room for whatever they were looking for. My eyes lingered on the dead woman they’d left behind. These players were so eager to join Melumek’s cult they’d murder anyone who stood in their way.

I should have seen them as people like me who had simply lost their way, but when I looked down at them in their black robes, all I saw was evil. These weren’t people just trying to survive. These were people trying to profit off of the death of others.

I followed Kelly with the tip of my bolt. She was the worst of them all. When she’d spoken to Tanya earlier, she’d acted truly concerned for her supposed friend’s well-being. She’d even seemed appropriately reprimanded when Tanya snapped at her over Theo. I would almost be impressed by her acting ability if I cared at all about her.

I focused on my Identify skill, jumping from one aspiring cultist to the next.

Carl Wanless – Level 24 Medium Warrior

Bruce Thomas – Level 25 Forge Crafter

Kelly Malo – Level 28 Dual-wielder Thief

I was not impressed by what I saw, although I will admit, Bruce was the first Forge Crafter I’d actually seen. There had been more than a few in Oliver’s Rest, but I’d never had cause to meet them. Masters of the forge, they were responsible for crafting unique and valuable weaponry as well as repairing those we already had. They were vital to our continued existence. The warrior and the thief were a dime a dozen in comparison.

I turned my eyes back to the dead woman whose body had begun to glow as golden as her fanned-out hair. I don’t know why I cared that the stranger was dead. Maybe it was just the sheer brutality of her being stripped from this world. I focused on the fallen woman, straining my power as she was at the very edges of my skill field.

Rachel Downer (Deceased) – Level 25 Blood Mage.

Before I had a chance to contemplate what I had seen, more words flashed in front of my face, dancing about in their infuriating sparkling manner.

Level 30!

New class skills available.

Momentarily distracted from my hunt, I opened up my player menu and navigated to the class screen. There it was, a single point glowing at the top of the screen, ready for me to use.

I’d been frustrated as hell when I’d hit and surpassed level twenty without another point, but finally, it was here. I still hadn’t figured out how these things were allotted. I’d gotten my first at level ten, and now this one at level thirty. That was a twenty-level difference. Was that important? Would I get my next one at level fifty? That didn’t make sense.

Maybe if Tanya hit Level Fifty before I left this place, I could ask her about it. Not that other players seemed inclined to talk about their levels and classes. It seemed silly that they were so determined to keep it secret. It was a bit like working in an office where no one told others their salary out of ingrained fear of the repercussions. If you thought about it, it didn’t make a lot of sense, but still, no one talked about it.

I’d figure it out by the time I hit level one hundred. It was a silly goal to have in a world overrun with Toilet Crocs. Every level closer I got, though, the stronger the urge to reach those triple digits became.

I followed the lines that grew from the Identify skill that looked like branches of a tree reaching toward the sky. They touched two other icons that had lit up with new skills or options.

Before I could examine them further, a pained scream broke the silence in my filthy pipe. I rushed to close out of my menu and practically shoved my face against the cold, wet bars of the grate. It didn’t take me long to locate the source of the scream. Kelly and Carl were standing by Tanya’s pet man-eating plant, tugging desperately at a pair of legs that stuck out of its undulating petals. The plant glowed bright green as it devoured poor Bruce.

I breathed through my gritted teeth as I watched the pair of flailing legs become limp. I was starting to think anyone named Bruce was destined for a horrible death. I’d never been more grateful to be named Joe.

Carl and Kelly gave up and stumbled away from the devouring plant, watching in horror as it tilted up and spread its petals to completely encase the now-dead Forge Crafter. I sighed and scratched at the growing threads of my hair. It was such a waste of a rare class holder.

“We should get out of here,” Carl said, turning toward the gaping circular entrance to the growing room.

Kelly screeched like a harpy and grabbed his arm, yanking him back. “We can’t give up now. This is our only chance. Tanya is sulking over that drunken blockhead. We won’t have another opportunity to raid this place.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“We don’t need to do this. The Fellowship will take us in even if we don’t bring an offering.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about, you idiot,” Kelly barked. “Do you think they just take anyone in willy-nilly? They are the elite players chosen to bring about Melumek’s glory in this new world. If we don’t prove our worth, they’ll kill us on the spot as a sacrifice to his greatness.”

“How do you even know all this? I read the same book you did. None of this was in it,” Carl said, his voice turning shrill.

“Just trust me, please. I love you, Carl, but we are running out of time.”

“What are you doing here?”

A smile crept onto my face as I watched a raging Tanya step into the growing room. Her face was beet red in stark relief against her pale robe. She held her arms out wide beside her. The humid air in the room began to move, rustling the plants and filling the place with a dull hum.

“Oh, Tanya,” Kelly cried in a voice dripping with honey. “I’m so glad you’re here. We were looking for you.”

“Oh, and I suppose this poor woman here was also looking for me?” Tanya snarled, jabbing a finger at Rachel’s corpse.

Kelly’s demeanor changed instantly, returning to the dark and evil soul she truly was. “I hope you know we can’t let you leave now, not when we’re so close.”

“Who have you become, Kelly?” Tanya asked, stepping further into the room. “You have so much potential, and yet you choose to just squander it?”

“You and I both know the Outsiders have an expiration date. The horde is almost upon us, and yet we do nothing but hide in these stinking tunnels. How is that a life?” Kelly screamed.

“And you, Carl, do you feel the same way?”

Carl shuffled his feet, his hand placed on the braided grip of the sword at his waist. “I don’t want to die in a sewer.”

Tanya glowered at the pair. She might not have been a tall woman, but at this moment, she was radiating so much power I could feel it in my cramped little hidey-hole.

“I’m done talking,” Kelly snapped.

She let out a warbling cry and through a flask on the ground. It shattered against the hard stone floor and filled the room with a dense black fog that smelled of rotting eggs and crusty feet. I clamped a hand over my nose as I used my Identify skill to keep track of the battle in the drifting gloom.

The glowing names and classes shifted wildly about the room. Tanya weaved her way through the garden until she came up against Carl. I heard the man's sword whistle as it flashed through the air, only to end in a solid thunk. I gripped the bars in a panic. Tanya seemed unaffected by the strike. The rustling of the plants grew into a roar. I couldn’t see what was happening. Carl cried out in pain. His health bar appeared and dropped by a third almost immediately.

Whatever Tanya was doing, it was making a huge impact.

“What’s happening?” A stranger screamed from the entrance to the room.

“Quick, get Ryan,” another cried.

I watched Kelly’s hovering name as it circled Tanya. She was going for a backstab—a classic move. I aimed at the name, being careful to keep the tip of my bolt as far from Tanya’s floating name as possible. I might not trust her over much, given how close she was with Theo, but letting her die was not an option. I wasn’t Miranda; I couldn’t interrogate a dead person.

I moved my fingers to yank back on the trigger. The bolt whizzed through the black cloud. Kelly’s scream rang out over Carl’s pained cries. Her health bar appeared, making it even easier to gauge where she was. I cocked another bolt and let loose in a quick, practiced motion. I heard it hit the stone and grumbled as I reloaded. I would never be as good at archery as Gabby was. Thankfully, my next bolt hit, dragging out another scream.

Critical Hit!

I watched in satisfaction as her health plummeted. I’d only hit her with two unpoisoned bolts, and already it was two-thirds gone.

“What is going on in here?” Ryan’s thundering baritone sounded from the passageway.

A shockwave pushed the cloud of darkness away, revealing the scene to me and all the others gathered by the passage. Ryan glowered from his place in front of the crowd. He held his double-handed hammer out in front of him. He looked ready for battle, but there was no need.

Tanya straightened from her warrior pose and smoothed the creases from her robe. Carl lay at her feet, completely bound by thick vine ropes. Kelly was pinned to the ground by two bolts through her right arm. Tears were streaming down her face as she tried to yank them free. Fear and anger were waging war over her face as her eyes shifted between Tanya, Ryan, and his pack of Outsiders.

“Tanya, explain,” Ryan bellowed.

“It seems we have a couple of traitors on our hands,” Tanya said, stepping over Carl and walking toward the leader of the rebels.

“Is that so?” Ryan asked, a lopsided smile splitting his face.

“Let me through!”

Theo barged his way through the crowd and ran to Tanya, grabbing her hand. “Are you alright?”

The man was such an unbelievable wreck that I almost felt sorry for him. He had abandoned his heavy armor for a simple pair of torn slacks and a stained cotton shirt. His hair was an oily mess, and he’d grown the shaggy beginnings of what would one day be an impressive beard. Frank was sitting on his shoulder, flapping his wings in agitation.

Tanya’s lip quivered for a short moment before she yanked her hand back. “I’m fine.”

“Shut the hell up!”

Tanya frowned, her face lighting up at seeing the raven. “Frank’s back, does that mean…?”

Theo just shook his head.

“Oh,” she said.

Ryan stomped between them, yanking Kelly up by the neck of her robe. “I think it’s time you visited our little jail. What do you think? Cody, grab the other one.”

Ryan and his flock left in a rush, leaving Tanya and Theo alone. I could still hear Kelly’s raving screams as she was taken away. Something told me whatever Ryan had in store for Kelly would be much worse than anything I could do.

“I see you’ve decided to leave your room,” Tanya said, rubbing her upper arms as she avoided eye contact with the disheveled warrior.

“I heard you were in trouble,” Theo said.

“And that was enough to get you out here?”

“I’d do anything for you,” he said.

I could have gagged on the sweetness of it all. It was like I was watching one of those crappy romance movies they pumped out every single year. Tanya’s cheeks were rosy red, and this time it wasn’t because she was angry. I was starting to feel awkward watching.

Apparently, so was Frank. He screamed as loud as he could, “Shut the hell up!”

Tanya laughed and said, “Come on, let's go find Ryan and find out what the hell is going on.”

Theo moved to follow her but stopped when something cluttered across the stone floor at his feet. The big man frowned and bent, picking up the bolt he’d just kicked. His thick fingers folded over the arrow as he turned in a slow circle eyeing every corner of the room.

Well, crap, I thought as I slowly slunk back through the slimy pipe.