Merijest's agreement with the Twin Stars meant the party would be leaving the KangarooHawk behind, and after the Cow-Dog gave Merijest a pouty look, it was decided the two should remain together. However, only the KangarooHawk would become the bearer of both the [Familiar] and [Lantern] Classes.

At the same time, Merijest's increased power meant that Thesa could get another spell and one of the Class options she had skipped at a lower level. For her spell, she took [Miasmic Slash] which would temporarily add a poison effect to her weapon attacks. Then, to make up for the new gaps in the party, she agreed to create a [Minor Familiar].

They were on [Floor] 64 in a room with craggy stone walls that resembled a natural cavern. Thesa and Merijest sat drying by a fire. The Chimerblin was curled up at Thesa's feet and the Hundred-Legged Snake was nowhere to be seen (Normally that might bother Thesa, but she was so happy to be out of the murky water that she forgot to be afraid).

“Your [Minor Familiar] is better off summoned than found.” Merijest explained as she preened her feathers with a claw. “We would need to find a pretty low level monster and I don't expect as much at this depth.”

Thesa agreed, but she was wary all the same. Leaving the form of her [Bound Weapon] up to the whims of the [System] was one thing. And she had only grown more and more fond of her halberd. But a randomly shaped creature had a lot of potential to go wrong.

As she reached within to summon the creature, she thought. What if it's another Hundred-Legged Snake?

A spark of ethereal feathers and light emerged from Thesa's chest, growing in size as the swirl of matter and energy floated before her. Pain struck the crook of her arm and several ounces of blood floated into the formation before the fresh wound quickly scarred over. Ignoring the pain, Thesa covered her eyes in fear, peeking through her fingers to see…

A birdhouse with chicken legs? Truly. Standing before her, a small wooden house with a hole just above a round, wooden perch which stuck out from the center. Was that its nose? Did it have an eye behind the hole? Peering in, there was only darkness.

“What…is it?”

The avian legs were the only evidence that the thing was alive. It tilted its house-shaped body around as if inspecting its surroundings. The creature waddled forward, testing its fresh legs.

“Unexpected, but cool,” Merijest said. “It's a Yabaga, also known as a Nest Walker. Not a common beast.”

“It doesn't even have a face,” Thesa said. “How is it that I am responsible for the weirdest monster in our party?”

Merijest rolled her eyes. “I think it makes sense that you would have an odd and adorable [Minor Familiar]. It suits you.”

Thesa's frustration and confusion was undercut somewhat by the blushing in her cheeks. This was followed by momentary dizziness given her recent blood donation. The [Witch] took a seat beside her strange creation.

“Just like their higher level variants, [Minor Familiars] can grant a lot of bonuses. However, you also have a responsibility to them. The more you invest your care, the more you will get back.”

“Ok…” Thesa nodded. “Then how about I give this little weirdo a nickname. Something to set it apart from all the other Yag… I mean Yab… what was that word again?”

“Are you just giving it a nickname because you can't remember ‘Yabaga’?” Merijest smirked, scratching a spot between her neck feathers, just above her clavicle.

“No…” Thesa lied unconvincingly. “But how about Yabba!”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

***

There was something oddly charming about her weird creature…child…thing. Yabba seemed endlessly inquisitive. Or at least, that's what Thesa assumed based on the way it pointed its perch-nose and…face-hole-thing at everything they passed.

[Floor] 62 was filled with creepy porcelain statues with broken faces (only one of which tried to eat anybody) and Yabba couldn't stop naively approaching each statue with equal curiosity.

When one of the statues did animate into a swirl of shattered pieces with a terrible, endless maw, Thesa carried her new [Minor Familiar] out of harm's way while Merijest spread her wings and destroyed the soulless construct with unholy magic. At first Thesa felt annoyed, but as she held Yabba, she started to recognize her protective impulses toward the little Nest Walker.

This had quickly bloomed into an almost maternal affection which was, and this is true, a little obnoxious.

“Who's my baby Yabba? You are! My baby!” Thesa cooed. The Yabaga in her arms did not emote in response because most of its body was made of wood, but it did make a sound like creaking floor boards which Thesa interpreted as intentional.

“Thesa,” Merijest said. “I say this as someone who loves and respects all animals. The only reason you are getting away with being this much about your [Minor Familiar] is because you're cute. But don't push it.”

Thesa's head spun.

Meanwhile Yabba jumped out of her lap and started playfully(?) chasing after the Chimerblin.

***

On [Floor] 60, Merijest decided that Thesa had gotten enough time to take the uncomfortable sensory experience of the murky water on [Floor] 65 and put it out of her mind. At least, she hoped so. As inevitable as it was, she didn’t want to put her [Witch] through more than she could handle.

“Thesa,” Merijest said, folding her wings and sitting on a pink toadstool in a chamber full of mushrooms. “There's something else the Twin Stars shared with me that I haven't shared yet.”

“Ok. What?” Thesa said. She was playing with Yabba (dragging around a twig on a string as prey(?) for Yabba to chase around as if it were hunting) and did not pick up on Merijest's tone right away.

“You might want to sit down, kitten,” Merijest said softly.

Thesa looked up and after a moment of squinting at Merijest's expression she realized that this was something more serious. She wasn't sure what and she couldn't shake this feeling in her gut that she had done something wrong?

“The Twin Stars shared with me that Beautuk has been acting strangely ever since you left his stead,” Merijest said. “Sounds like he already has a new champion.”

Thesa nodded as she sank. Her stomach sank. Her throat sank also. Her stomach swallowed up her sinking throat and continued to sink further down, full. This was not what she expected.

Merijest continued, “They don't know the identity of this new [Paladin] but apparently he is part of the party descending the [Dungeon].”

That was definitely not what she had expected. First of all, there was no rule against men being [Paladins] or Knights for that matter but it was uncommon. Second of all, why would the Convent send a newbie along on such an important mission? Perhaps they were trying to cram in levels for Beautuk's new champion. But why do that when the Convent was already full of skilled warriors?

It didn't make any sense.

“Do we know what [Floor] they are on now?” Thesa asked.

“No,” Merijest said. “However, today Lelly went to visit Lenum, the shopkeeper, and he says they were last seen on [Floor] 39 yesterday.”

It felt almost too perfect. Sir Kelreyn, Sir Garteth the executioner, and this new champion–the Knights’ descent mirrored Merijest and Thesa's ascent too perfectly. If that continued, their run in would happen on either [Floor] 50 or 51.