With the Arkagoka out of the way, Maya took a moment to examine the room. The blue glow was coming from thick bunches of glowing moss that had been shoved into what might have once been kerosene lamps. The lamps hung from multiple spots on the stone ceiling.

The rest of the room was surprisingly plain. There was a stone door at the far end of the room and a pot in the corner. Maya sniffed slightly. Her nose twisted and her nostrils flared in disgust. It was a chamber pot.

“Hmmm,” Cyll said from behind Maya. “This is interesting.”

He stood beside a blank wall, staring curiously at it. Maya and Patty walked to stand beside him.

“What is?” Patty asked.

“The wall. This is where we came in,” Cyll said, tapping it.

Maya spun. There was only one door in the room, and it wasn’t the one they’d come in through.

“Shit,” she said.

Patty didn’t say anything. She just wandered over to one of the fallen fishmen and started inspecting it.

“It’s certainly a surprising development,” Cyll agreed. “It doesn’t look like this dungeon wants us backing out.”

They inspected the wall for a few minutes, but it was to no avail. The door had completely vanished. It was as if it had never been there.

“Well, I suppose we don’t have a choice. It’s not like we were just going to leave, anyways,” Maya said. “We need to keep moving forwards.”

“And quickly,” Cyll added. “We didn’t bring food with us.”

“Shit,” Maya cursed. “We don’t have any time to waste. Let’s go.”

Patty tore her sight away from the fishman she had been inspecting, a small frown present on her face, and joined the other two. Cyll took the lead once again. The others stood back as he approached the stone door and pushed it open.

To his slight surprise, nothing happened. The door swung open silently, revealing a second room lit the same way the first was. Cyll stepped inside, scanning the area for threats.

“It seems safe,” Cyll called.

The second room was built exactly the same as the first. However, the occupants had changed. It looked like they had, at one point, been a crew of sailors or pirates. However, all that was left now was bones and rotting flesh.

Aside from the rotting corpses in the corner and a stone door that was becoming familiar, the room was bare. Patty and Maya followed Cyll in. This time, Maya kept an eye on the door as they entered the room. It faded right before her eyes, transforming into unblemished stone.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Cyll knelt beside one of the dead men and ruffled through his pockets. A moment later, his hand emerged and he gave Maya a victorious grin.

“He had some gold on him,” Cyll said, jingling a leather sack. Maya couldn’t help a chuckle from escaping her lips.

Patty wasn’t as amused. She inspected one of the corpses closely, the frown on her carved face deepening with every passing moment.

“These aren’t dungeon monsters,” Patty said.

“What you mean?” Cyll asked, his grin fading. “They’re in a dungeon, aren’t they?”

“But they aren’t dungeon monsters,” Patty said. “Dungeon monsters are created in a different manner. Their bodies are almost completely composed of essence. A few hours after they die, they’ll fade away. But the bodies in this room haven’t decomposed. That means –”

Maya paled as realization struck her.

“By the four seas,” she whispered. “These are other shipwrecked crews, aren’t they?”

Patty nodded.

“If that’s the case, why are they staying in the rooms instead of going deeper?” Cyll asked, tossing the bag of coins from one hand to another.

“We already know the dungeon can control who enters and exits the rooms,” Maya said slowly. “What if the dungeon isn’t letting them leave?”

“That just begs the question of how the fishmen were still alive,” Cyll said. “I’ll admit we didn’t check the other ships too closely, but I highly doubt a lot of people are sailing into this place.”

“Good point,” Maya agreed.

“I don’t know how they got here, but they aren’t dungeon monsters,” Patty said firmly.

“Not arguing with you there,” Cyll said, raising his hands. “You know more about dungeons than I do, and all my knowledge is probably outdated. But if Maya is right, I think I’m even more concerned. If the dungeon has been holding these other people here, why is it letting us through?”

Neither of them had an answer to that.

There wasn’t much point in remaining for the room any longer, so Cyll pushed the next door open. He took a step forward but was abruptly jerked back as Patty’s arm extended and she grabbed him by the collar.

Cyll opened his mouth to complain, but the words froze in his throat. The room looked exactly the same as the previous two – aside from one small difference. The floor was gone.

A huge crater, one that Cyll had nearly plunged headfirst into, was all that remained of the ground before them. It was impossible to see more than a few feet into it. Cyll swallowed nervously.

“Thanks, Patty,” he said, taking a few healthy steps backwards. “Any idea why a dungeon would have a hole in the middle of the floor for no reason?”

“Boss monsters can patch a dungeon up pretty easily,” Patty said. The frown was deepening.

“It’s a pretty obvious trap,” Maya said, ignoring the annoyed glance Cyll sent at her. “If there was going to be a pitfall trap, you’d think the boss monster would at least cover it slightly.”

“Unless it’s not a trap,” Patty said, peering into the hole.

“What else could it be?” Cyll asked irritably. Sweat was beading up on the man’s forehead and his hands flexed rapidly. “I am not getting trapped underground again.”

This was the first time Maya had seen the man this scared. She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed slightly. Cyll looked away from the ground and up at her.

“Don’t worry, Cyll. You’re not going to get trapped again,” Maya promised. “After all, I already spent my Life-spark getting you out of the last hole. That’s too much of an investment to go to waste.”

A deep laugh escaped the man’s lips. He straightened slightly and gave Maya and appreciative nod.

“Right. So, Patty, if this isn’t a trap, what is it?” Cyll asked gruffly.

“A passage to skip part of the dungeon,” Patty replied.