Seeing how her words were not having any effect, the woman swore and turned to talk with a big morsvar. The guy held a shield and a mace, just like Gad.

Why is she so close to the guardians, though? That’s so dangerous, Nar thought.

She should be more at the back, as he deduced, based on the scepter and buckler in her hands, that she was a party leader, like Kur.

“Should we head back?” Tuk asked.

Nar tutted.

“I want to, but I don’t think we should,” he said. “Jul brought us here for a reason.”

“I-I don’t know the reason!” she said, alarmed.

“I meant, whatever it was you sensed, it wanted us here. It has to be important.”

He passed a hand over his mouth.

“I think we should help them,” Nar decided.

“What? Why?” Tuk said.

Nar waved at the whole scene with his sword.

“Five soldiers, twelve poisoners, and a pile ton of those little guys. And that’s all without knowing what those explosions just now were, or what’s behind that line. We don’t know what this bridge looks like, or what we need to do to cross it. But with everything that we’ve been through, and the fact that we share the quest with those Climbers, I’m willing to bet that the whole point of this is that it’s not something that we can do on our own.”

“Hmmm,” Tuk made, considering his words.

“Also, if those people die, the guardians are going to turn on us instead.”

Tuk let out a long, drawn-out exhale.

“I guess we have no choice then. What do you suggest?”

Nar pointed at the poisoners.

“They seem to be fine with the soldiers, but those bolts can end this in a blink if we get unlucky. Let’s hit them first.”

“And by that, you mean I’m hitting them and you’re covering us,” Tuk said.

“Yes. And Jul will keep an eye out for any surprises.”

“Alright, your call. That’s a lot of guardians, though.”

“I have faith in you,” Nar said.

More than in the Crystal, anyways.

“That’s great…” Tuk muttered. “On the count of three?”

“Now?”

Tuk drew a deep breath and smirked. His right hand came up, and the ring that spun on his index finger turned bright gray.

Nar stepped in front of the other two and got ready to cover them. The poisoners were bound to change their attention to them, as the most obvious threat.

“Here goes nothing!” Tuk shouted.

He threw his ring into the mass of poisoners, just as they readied to unleash another massive volley at the trapped Climbers.

Even Nar did not anticipate the destruction that followed.

Tuk had thrown his ring in a wide arc, meant to hit the closest poisoner, and then fly back to him. But maybe because of the distance, and due to still not being used to the effects of his [Aura], his throw went wider than he expected. The ring slashed through the four poisoners closest to them, and they went down mid volley, never knowing what had hit them.

“Was that on purpose?” Nar asked.

Tuk received his ring, and considered it.

“I think I wanted it to go farther and it took more [Aura] than I expected,” Tuk said. “Wow. So [Aura] can make them go further too… Crystal, what can’t it do?”

The adjutants erupted in a panicked clicking and the other poisoners took notice of the danger at their backs.

“Your turn,” Tuk said.

“Well don’t stop now!” Nar shouted.

The volley of bolts was unlike any Nar had faced before. Knowing that both Tuk and Jul were largely hiding behind him, meant that he only had to focus on a narrow area around him. However, that still meant a lot of bolts.

Maybe this was a bad idea…

It was all he could think of, before he submerged himself in his [Reflex], and the sword became a blur in his hands.

Over the course of the last couple weeks, Nar had gotten a better understanding of how his [Reflex] worked. He wasn’t just turning off his brain and letting the attribute take over everything. If only.

No, what he needed to do was much harder. He had to know where the bolts were going to be and he had to be the one initiating the parry and the movement. All his [Reflex] did was help him by making him react faster to the input his senses gave him.

[Speed] made him move faster, and [Agility] helped him move better. [Reflex] just made his brain react faster in response to what he saw, heard and the danger he sensed. It was like [Speed], except for his brain and nerves.

His sword met the bolts head on, a blur almost as effective as any shield. He let his body and reactions do the work, doing his best to keep any conscious thought from disrupting the still delicate process.

He cut, and slashed, and hit, and the volley was done, and they were still standing.

Tuk was at his side even before all the bolts had passed them by, and he got to work.

Now that he discovered he could use his [Aura] to hit further, and that it looked like these guardians were no match to his [Aura] attack, Tuk went wild. He threw long arcs straight into the middle of poisoners, and devastated their ranks.

The following volley was much easier to handle, and after that, Tuk finished them off, ignoring the crowd of adjutants that panicked without purpose, their little limbs trembling and shaking up in the air.

“The soldiers?” Tuk asked. “Might as well…”

Nar thought about it. “Hmmm…. Sure. One at a time though. If they rush us, we’re dead.”

“Got it.”

Tuk hit the closest soldier.

The Climbers shouted in fright as the bright disk exploded out and back into the guardian. The soldier went down and didn’t move again, and Tuk chuckled under his breath, at the stunned and frightened reactions of the Climbers.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I don’t think they’ve ever seen an [Aura] attack,” Nar said.

The Climbers were shouting incoherently at each other, and the red-haired woman tried to get them back under control.

Tuk targeted the next soldier, and again, it went down.

The red-haired party leader finally realized what was happening, and started waving and shouting at them, but Nar couldn’t hear her over the noise the other Climbers were making.

“What’s she saying?” he asked Jul.

“She’s saying don’t stop,” the scout said.

“Aaah. Makes sense.”

Tuk dropped the other three soldiers one after the other. It was effortless, graceful, and it shut up the rioting Climbers.

The silence that followed Tuk’s display was only broken by the screams and explosions coming from whatever it was that lay behind that line of Climbers.

“Crystal, what in the pile is going on over there?” Tuk asked, as the sounds reached them louder and more clearly. Whatever it was, it involved a lot of explosions, and a lot of pain.

Jul suddenly pointed at the tube.

“There’s more coming down!”

“And she’s coming too!” Tuk said.

Nar looked from the tube to the Climbers, and saw that the red-haired human and the morsvar tank were running towards them.

“Hi!” she said, gasping, when she stopped in front of them. “Please help us!”

Nar stepped up to stand in between the two of them and Jul and Tuk.

The morsvar grunted and stepped forward too, raising his shield.

“Woah! Woah! Woah!”

The leader grabbed the tank and raised a hand towards Nar.

“Calm down! We don’t want to fight!” she shouted, surprised by the sudden reaction.

“Neither do we,” Nar said. But he didn’t put the sword away.

The last time they had interacted with other Climbers had left a bitter taste in their mouths, and they hadn’t forgotten it.

“Okay, look. My name is Row, party leader” she said. “This is Tun, our tank.”

“Is that all your party?” Nar asked, motioning to the line with his head.

“What? No! We found these people here, and we got stuck with them. There’s a few steps that lead down to the actual bridge, and shit there is crazy,” she said.

“Nar!” Jul shouted.

Nar stepped forward, faster than the other tank could react, and intercepted the flurry of bolts that came their way.

Guardians were spilling out of the tube, and while some of the poisoners had targeted them, fortunately, the soldiers only seemed interested in the line of Climbers guarding the stairs down to the bridge.

Tuk quickly dispatched the poisoners that were focused on them, and Nar was able to turn his attention back to Row.

She eyed him with a mixture of awe and bewilderment.

“What are you?” she breathed. “A tank? I’ve never seen a tank like you.”

“I’m the secondary tank,” Nar said, before he realized he was doing it.

“Secondary… Is that a thing? Wait, so who’s the actual tank?”

She looked at Jul and Tuk.

“This isn’t all of us,” Tuk said. “We got separated. The rest will be here soon, though.”

We hope! Nar thought.

Nar sensed another volley and went through the same motions.

“And what are you?” Row asked Tuk.

“Me? I’m a ring tosser.”

“I know that, I’ve seen one of you before, a trugger as well. But her rings didn’t shine!”

“Oh, that! I’m just putting my [Aura] into it!”

“Your what?” Tun asked, speaking for the first time, in a deep voice.

Row stared at Tuk, too shocked to speak at the revelation.

For his part, Tuk spun his shining ring, and sent it off, to destroy more poisoners.

“It’s cool, uh?” Tuk asked, grinning proudly.

“How is that even possible?” Row asked. “How? And you, with the sword! How are you doing that?”

Nar sensed the incoming projectiles and slashed without looking.

“Oops!” Tuk said. “Missed one! You’re getting really good at that.”

He threw out his ring again, to destroy the guardians he had missed.

“How did you do that? You didn’t even look…”

The red-haired leader looked like she was about to pass out. She looked at Jul, a question clearly at the tip of her tongue. Jul squirmed and shifted, and hid behind Tuk.

“Hey, leave her alone!” Nar said.

“I didn’t do anything!” Row protested. “I just thought she was the one with the senses!”

“It’s complicated,” Nar said. “Can that line hold without your tank?”

“Oh, shit! I forgot!”

She looked at Tuk and joined her hands in pleading.

“Can you clear them out again?” she asked. “Please?”

“No problem,” Tuk said.

“Watch your stamina,” Nar warned him.

“Don’t worry, I’m barely down a quarter.”

“Still, we don’t know what’s going on.”

However, they both knew they needed those Climbers alive. Besides, they couldn’t just turn their backs on them.

What had happened at the battle with the cannibals had both shocked and hardened their hearts. But they were still sentients. They couldn’t just let people die.

So Tuk got to it, and Nar looked back at Row.

“We got the quest to cross the bridge,” he said. “And we’ll probably end up fighting together. But our party leader’s the one who’ll make that choice.”

She blinked at him. “You’re not the leader?”

Nar scoffed. “No! Kur’s our leader.”

“And he just let you guys go? His strongest fighters?”

Tuk burst out laughing.

“You hear that? The strongest fighters?”

Nar chuckled.

“We’ll tell our caster you said that.”

“You have a caster too?” Row breathed.

“Crystal have mercy…” Tun whispered.

He looked nervously at the corridor behind them.

“Maybe we should go back,” he said to Row.

“We’re not going to fight you,” Nar said, frowning. “As long as you don’t fight us.”

Tuk nodded vigorously. “We’ve never bothered anyone.”

Row dropped her shoulders in relief. Tun however, was still not convinced.

“They’re here!” Jul shouted.

“Oh, thank the Crystal!” Tuk said.

“Maybe you should step away,” Nar said. “We’ve had issues before, and don’t want any misunderstandings.”

Row nodded. “Tun!”

The two of them took a few steps away from Nar, and Tun turned their back to them, to cover the two of them against any bolts.

Nar faced the corridor.

It had probably only been twenty to thirty minutes, since they’d left the others behind. But a hole and a worry he hadn't noticed until now, had grown in his chest. The relief he felt, knowing that they were coming, surprised him. Especially as he realized that he was relieved to know that they were safe, just for the sake of being safe. It had nothing to do with needing them to Climb.

Getting close, Nar…

He shook his head.

Yes. I am. And that’s fine.

He trusted these people. This party. He knew he could leave his life in their hands, and that they would rather die than let anything happen to him.

It was funny, how quickly he had changed his mind. Or, perhaps, the feelings and the trust had been there for a while now, only Nar had held them back, with his doubts and uncertainty.

He pushed the thoughts away, not to get distracted in the middle of a fight, and waited for the others to arrive. Hopefully, they were indeed all safe and sound.

The first into the light was Gad. She stomped forward with her shield and took in the whole scene with a quick glare.

She didn’t halt her charge, aiming straight at Row and Tun, and Nar had to raise his hands to stop her.

“Wait! They just want our help!” he shouted. “And we need theirs!”

She halted her heavy steps and stopped next to Nar. She kept her shield up, and Row and Tun shifted nervously. Stuck between an unknown party filled with powerful Climbers, and the guardians, was not an enjoyable place to find oneself in.

“It’s all clear!” Gad shouted.

The others filtered out from the corridor.

Mul, Viy, Cen and Kur. They walked on their own, and seemed fine. The worst injury was a black spot across Mul’s check and eye.

Oh, thank the… Nar stopped himself short. He was happy they were safe, but that had nothing to do with the Crystal.

“Don’t!” Mul warned, staring at Tuk.

“Eh!” Tuk chuckled, but he bit his tongue.

“Thank the Crystal you’re safe!” Kur said, approaching Nar.

“You too. But we don’t have time! Did you get the quest?”

“Yes! We can cross into the Mid-Levels!”

Nar shook his head. “It’s not going to be that easy.”

Explosions and screams sounded on cue and Kur grimaced, and sighed.

“Yeah, I gathered. Who’s that?”

Nar gestured for the two Climbers to approach. “This is Row, party leader. And this is Tun, their tank.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Kur said.

“You too. You got quite the party,” she said, laughing.

She managed to sound only a little bit nervous, as they fanned out behind Kur.

At that, Kur arched an eyebrow at Nar.

“I didn’t say anything. She guessed most of it,” Nar said, with a shrug. “And Tuk was Tuk.”

Kur shifted his stare to the ring tosser.

“She thought Nar was the party leader, and that we were the strongest in the party,” Tuk said. “We told her about you, Cen.”

“What? No! I’m not the strongest!” the caster protested.

“Hush people! Come on,” Kur said.

He eyed the red-haired human, and Gad, next to him, eyed the morsvar that was every bit her mirror.

“I’m guessing that whatever’s beyond those Climbers, is not something a single party can handle,” Kur said.

“It’s not. By the Crystal, it’s not. And with every explosion, the more Climbers are dying! We need to work together, or we’re all dying here!” Row said.

“Hmmm.”

Her expression darkened and she took a step back.

“You don’t care?” she whispered.

“What? Of course I care! What do you take us for?” Kur asked her, frowning.

“Well! What are you hesitating for!”

“We’ve seen Climbers at their worst,” Gad stepped in. “We’re just being careful.”

The words and Gad’s tone made Row pause.

“You’ve seen Climbers fight?”

“I’ve seen Climbers turn on each other for a quest reward. Right after fighting side by side,” Gad said in a dark tone. “They killed almost as many as our enemies did.”

“Disgusting,” Mul muttered.

Row went pale. “Crystal… I’ve never… We’ve had disagreements, but… Actual killing?”

“Incoming!” Jul shouted.

Nar was already on the way, and met the bolts a fraction of a second ahead of the two tanks. Together, the three of them covered the party and Row. Once it was clear, Tuk attacked the poisoners, sending his ring back and forth.

“We don’t have a choice, Kur,” Nar said.

The party leader sighed. “I know, I know. Row, is it? Look, I’m sorry, Row. Just tell us what we can do, so that we can all get out of this mess. And as long as your people have no ill intentions towards us, we won’t either.”

“Thank you! Thank you! And of course not! We would never do anything like that!” she said, and she stepped forward to shake Kur’s hand before he could react. “Now come! It will be easier to show you!”