“So, are you two ready?” Eric asked, raising an eyebrow at Coney.
“Y-yeah…” Coney said, blushing a little. He wasn’t really ready to address the tension that he had with Carrie, and she wasn’t helping at all.
“Good. Let's get going.”
“I wonder if I could mark how to get back here. This is a good safe spot in the labyrinth…” Coney asked himself.
“You would need cartography. I know that’s a skill, but I haven't learned it.” Briana said. “I suppose if you’re recording then you can just follow that next time.”
“Assuming the Labyrinth makes sense. It could change as we move through it.” Carrie said, as the four of them walked through the front doors and out into the larger dungeon. She blended into the shadows and snuck ahead.
The tunnels were dangerous, but what was so much harder was how complacent it could make them. They were not used to the silence of these tunnels, their escapades going down being so difficult and filled with peril. In contrast, walking up the stairs and through the long winding hallway that seemed to lead up was easy.
“Next time I need to bring extra chalk.” Eric said, scribbling a note on the wall as the path ahead split. What should they do, fight the dungeons individually, try to resolve the problem all together, or convince the monsters to run away. It was nonsense, but Coney’s brain was rattled.
The peace of the walk was cut off suddenly as the floor lifted below them. At first, Coney thought it was a trap, until he saw that there were tentacles. That was a monster, and it was attacking Carrie.
“Be careful!” He called out, trying to slash at the tentacles with his sickle.
“Thanks for the genius insight, I would have just let this thing molest me all it wanted if you hadn’t stepped in.” Carrie said, grasping something from in her armor and drawing out something long and hard from her coat. It was a sword, and she slashed through the grasping beings.
It was crazy, she didn’t look like the same kind of fighter she had when Coney last saw her fight, but that was just the previous day. Had she been playing fox-tricks? Had he mistaken all her affection for something more real than it was? She was clearly adept in charlatan work. Whatever the case, her movements were fluid.
Carrie’s sword was a curved blade, only a foot or two long as it slashed around in careful arcs. She was able to sever them, but more just kept coming. “It’s regenerating! What now?!”
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“Well, it’s gotta have a core or something similar, because creatures like this can’t live on their own.” Eric said, confidently. “We studied this in a class at the school. Care and cuts of magical creatures. It was kind of a mixed Home Ed and martial arts class.”
“This world is crazy.” Coney said. “Do you think the core is above or below the floor?”
“If it’s bellow then there’s fuck all we can do.” Briana said, running forward with her thick armor on.
“This isn’t the right fight for plate armor!” Coney said, trying to take the distance he could. “Eric, This might hurt Briana, but shocking it is the only way.”
“Of course! I can reach inside to get the core!” Briana said, throwing the first punch. She forgoed the use of her sword, plumbing oddly plant-like flesh with her fists. The fleshy tentacle writhed, but they supposed it was close enough. She kept hammering her chest, trying to get the creature to let Carrie go, or bearing that deal lasting damage… at least.
“Goddess Fortuna, guide us.” Coney said, praying to the air. “Lady Nikey, assure our victory, please.”
Energy seemed to flow around Coney, as Briana slammed a fist through a floor tile and into something squishy below. They could hear it, the raw squelching sound of a fist penetrating chest. They fought again and again but the monster was finally being exhausted one step at a time. “Now!” She cried out.
“But it’ll hurt you!” Eric said, a little concerned.
“Doesn’t matter. We have to trust our instinct.”
“Alright…” Eric raised his hands. “Thrusting winds, heed my call, draw lighting forward!” Between his hands a ball of lighting appeared and it began to grow. After thirty seconds it was as big as a basketball. At a minute it was nearly unstable, looking like a floating plasma ball.
“Hurry up, that they'll blow at any second” Coney said, and Eric let fly. The bolt of lighting filled the area around Briana.
Carrie was unharmed, the tentacles moving away and twitching as it seemed to lose all cognition. Briana on the other hand was… not okay. Her body looked like a fire survivor. Like she had a burn. But it was impossible to tell under her armor. It looked warped, slightly melted, no matter how she moved she looked jerky and unable to stand steady.
Walking forward, Carrie took the lead once again. “Thanks guys, I’m not sure how long I could slowly fade away.” She shrugged. “You can all die for each other, but I am not good at that sort of sacrifice. Instead, I’ll take the risks, going back in front.”
Coney just nodded, he hated not having been able to do anything for them all. This was crazy, he had just been bragging how good he fished. But it looked like his companions had grown stronger as well. This was the crazy life of an adventure, Coney loved it on a level. Even as they walked deeper into the labyrinth, trying to get home.
“I think I see our exit.” Carrie said, standing on a tall steep ladder point. “You weren't supposed to be here along with us.” She said apologetically to Coney. “Just, know we’re here for you as well.”
“Of course, of course.” Coney said, not sounding convinced. “Look, how long have we got?”
“As far as I could estimate we have about… a room or two. I saw a glint, it looked like the mirror room.”
“We know where to go from there.” Coney said, not questioning why the mirror room had a secret door, or how she could see through to the other side, but he was done questioning her.