Out front, Kat shone a flashlight. Bringing up the rear, Greta shone a second flashlight. Ash had the third flashlight, but at the moment he was secured inside Cherri’s backpack.

Petals nodded at the Moon Priestess. “Go ahead and let him out.”

Ash sprang out of the backpack before Cherri could unzip the large compartment even halfway. Holding his flashlight with his tail, he slithered towards the wall, away from everyone. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”

“Sorry,” Petals said, “but what else were we to do? We needed to get past those scarabs, and you were succumbing to their possessing power. If we hadn’t restrained you, you’d have freed the spirits in every one of them, and we’d have been taking a risk of hurting each other every time. Or you could have gone back to Gondra’s room to keep him company while we continued without you. So, tell me, what should we have done?”

“You could have discussed it with me first.” Ash shone his flashlight at Petals. “I understand your need to use a spell on me to stop me, but you could have moved me back down the hall where we could talk safely instead of stuffing me in a backpack. Do you know how humiliating it is to be an ash golem in the first place? And then to be stuffed in a bag like some doll you just purchased in a toy store is downright degrading. Do not do that again.”

In the lead, Kat slowed, shining her flashlight into the distance ahead.

“What is it?” asked Elena.

Kat shook her head, her swaying tresses dark as shadow against the backdrop of dimly illuminated hallway. She didn’t answer the question.

“You’re right,” Petals said to Ash. “I treated you like an animal, not a person, and for that I apologize. So, are you going to slither along on your belly or ride someone’s neck?”

Out in the lead, Kat slowed all the way to a stop. “You should ride Elena’s neck, Ash.”

“It’s better if he not be too far to the front,” Petals said.

Ash crawled towards Elena. “There you go again, Petals, still treating me like I have no say in matters about myself. Talking about me like I’m not even here.”

“I said I was sorry.” Petals rubbed her eyes. “I really don’t think you should be that far forward in our marching order. But I won’t argue with you about it. This is your game, too, so you should understand what kind of risks you’re taking.”

Turning to face the others, Kat shone her flashlight back along the hallway.

“Kat, please.” Petals raised a hand to block the light from her eyes.

A scurrying noise came from near the front of the line, followed by a cry of “Oust” from Ash.

Caught in the beam of Kat’s flashlight, a bent figure rose in silhouette and straightened, its profile that of a chubby fellow wearing a full beard and a top hat. A jolly masculine voice boomed, “Who here will have my luck?”

“Me, please,” said Kat. Her flashlight dipped towards the floor but remained on, pointing down.

Ash’s flashlight went out. “Me, too,” he said.

Greta’s flashlight also went out. "I will have it." The Green Warrior rushed past Petals.

“Stop, Greta,” Cherri cried from her location just ahead of Petals.

“Get away, Ash,” Elena cried. “I swear I’ll shoot you.”

Petals wanted to shout at Elena not to hurt Ash, but instead, she yelled, “Kat, his luck you must not take, Move far away for your own sake.” She raised her staff to aim at Kat, using the Psi-Thief’s flashlight, the only one still on, to determine her location. But the staff struck an obstacle on the way up.

“Then you have my luck, young lady.” The booming words were followed by a belly laugh.

Kat’s flashlight rose, its beams shooting under the brim of the figure’s top hat to strike Elena in the face. The bang of a rifle shot pierced the darkness, and a bullet ricocheted down the length of the hallway, missing whatever target Elena had intended.

“And you shall have my luck, ye ashen snake.” The figure bent down. “Ah, but you must stay still.”

“Let go of me,” Ash cried. “Tara? I thought we were friends.”

“We are.” The Illusionist’s voice came from near Elena. “I’m doing this for your own good.” She gagged. From the sound of it, she stumbled.

Metal clanged on the floor. “I must have his luck,” Ash said.

“Ah, there ye are,” boomed the jolly voice. “Now ye have my luck.” The figure straightened again. “Who else here will have it?”

Tara moaned. “You stabbed me.” Someone, presumably the Illusionist, collapsed to the floor.

“I must have his luck.” Greta rushed forward.

“Stop again,” cried Cherri. “I can’t let you do it, Greta. I’m sorry.”

“No one else?” asked the shadowy figure.

Petals aimed her staff at the silhouette. “You who are unwelcome in this place, take a Zap in your face.” Lightning streaked from the tip of her staff at the shadowy top hat. The magical beam struck its target but fizzled.

“I see my welcome is worn out.” The figure laughed. “Then I shall be going.” He became translucent in the illumination of Kat’s flashlight. Growing increasingly more transparent, he faded to nothingness in the span of two seconds.

“I’m sorry, Ash,” Elena gasped. Caught in the flashlight beam, she dropped to her knees.

“Tara?” Ash’s voice trembled. “I’m so sorry I stabbed you. I couldn’t stop myself.” His flashlight came on and shone on the fallen Illusionist, lying in a pool of blood.

“Ash….” Tara coughed. Liquid gurgled in her throat.

He jumped onto her stomach. “Heal.”

Greta staggered, freed of her paralysis. Her flashlight came back on. She shone it in Cherri’s face for a moment, saying nothing.

The Moon Priestess blocked the light with an upraised arm. “I had no choice, Greta.”

“I know. After you stopped me, I wished you would die, so I’d be free. I don’t like having felt that way. I don’t really want you dead.” The Green Warrior’s arm shook.

Cherri nodded. “I don’t like how any of this shit has made me feel.”

Greta shone her light on Tara and Ash.

Breathing heavily, the Illusionist covered her eyes, her pure black skin absorbing the light.

Ash raised his head from where it still lay on Tara’s stomach. He was no longer gray. Other than his sunglasses and wig, he was bright green.

Greta trained her light on Kat. The Psi-Thief lowered her own light and used her other arm to block her eyes. While her clothing was still camouflaged and her hair was still red, her skin had turned the same bright green as Ash’s. The Green Warrior lowered her light and moved behind Petals, returning to her place in the marching order. “What do we do now?”

“Are you all right, Tara?” Petals asked.

“I’m still sick to my stomach, but I’ll be fine.”

“Are you willing to spend some of your unassigned points on the Illusionist Light skill?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” A dim light filled the immediate area around the Illusionist. Tara lay an arm across her forehead. “That’s what I get from the skill at level one. Should I assign another point?”

Petals wanted to reply in the affirmative. “It would be good, but it’s your choice.”

The light brightened, spreading out twenty feet from the Illusionist up and down the hall. “I have one more unassigned skill point. I can make a brighter light, or I can save the skill point. What do you suggest?”

“This will do fine for now, Tara. Thank you.” Petals drew a deep breath. “So, Kat and Ash, may we assume you each have a +1 buff of some sort?”

“Seth’s Luck +1,” said Kat.

“Same here.” Ash slithered off Tara onto the floor. “I think we can assume what waits us further down this hallway. Three more clover symbols. That’s what this symbol was. A four-leaf clover. I realize the buffs we’ve gotten from these symbols—the clover and the scarab—are named after our enemy, but I fail to see the downside in having them. We ought to consider going back to the scarabs and letting Tara and Cherri get the buffs from the other three, and letting me, Kat, and Greta get the buffs from the three clover symbols I’m sure are waiting for us in this hallway.”

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“I don’t know.” Petals clapped a hand over her eyes, trying to focus. “We need to consider that every time you use Oust on one of these symbols, you’re releasing a shadow monster. In the case of the scarab, we surmised the shadow monster you released to be representative of Seth as an Egyptian God. From the clover symbol, I’m getting a distinctly Irish vibe, because of the four-leaf clover and the involvement of the color green. The figure itself might have been a leprechaun, with a beard and top hat. Is there a leprechaun in Irish folklore called Seth?”

Ash shook his wigged head. “Not that I know of.”

The Pink Wizard dropped her hand from her face. “I just feel we’re playing more and more into Seth’s hands with each of these symbols we trigger. They’re causing divisions among us, for one thing, which in itself is giving Seth a lot of satisfaction, no doubt. I mean, we’re ready to kill each other over these things. But more than that, as I mentioned before, we’re not killing these monsters that you’re Ousting. They’re leaving on their own accord after granting us their buffs. Where are they going, and what are their motives?”

“Can I just say that I love my green skin?” Kat shone her flashlight from her feet to her stomach and back down. “I feel super-powered. Not that I am. But… I don’t know… I just feel special.”

“Same here.” Cherri admired her ebony arms. Tara and Ash echoed the sentiment, assessing their own bodies.

“That’s what scares me.” Petals turned her gaze from one to the next of her four unnaturally-colored companions. “It’s like you’re all still possessed to a degree. If I were to ask for a vote on whether or not to trigger the remaining symbols, you’d all vote to do it, because of how the ones already triggered make you feel. They’re like drugs. You feel good but want to feel even better. So I won’t ask for a vote about this. Sorry, Ash, but you can either climb voluntarily back into Cherri’s backpack and stay there until we get past any clover symbols remaining in this hallway, or I can Move you down the hallway with my magic and prevent you from triggering them. Because you clearly can’t resist the domination magic exuding from them. Or we can split up, and you can do whatever you want then.”

“That won’t work,” said Greta. “I need to keep an eye on both of you. Can’t do that if you split up.”

“You’re operating out of fear, Petals,” said Tara. “These buffs remove that fear. If you had one, you’d see.”

The Pink Wizard shook her head. “I wasn’t drawn to either the clovers or the scarabs.”

“Neither was I,” said Elena. “Maybe it’s because I don’t have any African or Irish blood.”

“Yeah,” said Petals, “and that’s the other thing that scares me. These symbols use blood magic. Someone shed blood so these symbols could be made.”

“All the more reason we shouldn’t pass them up,” said Cherri. “We shouldn’t let sacrifices made by our ancestors go to waste. We should get the rest of the buffs available to us. If we only accept the ones aligned with our ancestry, how can they hurt us? The blood of our ancestors can’t be used for ill against us.”

“And what about me and Petals?” Elena asked. “You five will have your buffs, while Petals and I have nothing?”

“Petals doesn’t want any anyway,” said Ash. “But we can always look down the other hallway, the one leading to the left hand. I bet there are symbols on the floor there. They might work for you. What’s your heritage?”

Elena nodded. “I’m a mix of Asian, mostly Japanese. Also some French.”

Petals swallowed hard. “I’ve got French ancestry too. And Native American.”

“I suggest we go see what symbols we find down the other fork of the hallway,” said Ash. “I bet we find something of French origin or otherwise symbolizes France. Maybe a rooster. Or a fleur-de-lis. Or the Eiffel Tower.”

“Fine.” Petals motioned towards the three-way intersection lying not too far behind them. “Let’s check it out. But Ash, you stay back from it. I don’t want you to trigger it until we’ve had a chance to see what it is and discuss it. In fact, only Kat will go down the hallway at first. Once she tells us what the symbol is, we’ll discuss what we’re doing about it.”

Tara climbed to her feet. “Ash, would you mind riding my neck?”

No one raised an objection. He had stabbed her, after all.

“Sure.” The Green Golem leaped onto the Ebony Illusionist’s extended arm and crawled up. He wrapped himself around her neck, a bright green scaly collar encircling the smooth jet black skin of her throat.

The others waited for green-skinned Kat to take the lead. Then the Color Guard headed back towards the three-way intersection. The name they’d chosen for their group seemed almost prophetic.

When they reached the three-way, they waited while Kat walked alone down the unexplored hallway, the one she’d earlier told them led to the left hand of Gondra. She lit her way with a flashlight, since the magical light remained centered on the Illusionist.

Kat stopped after she’d gone perhaps forty feet and examined something on the floor. After a few seconds, she continued down the hallway, pausing every dozen feet or so. Finally she returned to the intersection where the rest of the group waited. “I don’t think it’s French. It’s a sun symbol. There are four of them total.”

“Japanese. They’re for me.” Elena frowned as she turned her gaze on Petals. “It seems you’re left out. I don’t get it.”

“What do you want to do?” Ash asked, his sunglasses turned towards the Pink Wizard.

Petals scanned the faces of her companions. “Do all of you want to trigger all the symbols?”

They all nodded or replied in the affirmative, including Elena.

“Then I guess we just need to work out a way to do it without killing each other.” Petals didn’t want to force her will on them if they were all against her. “Let’s do the sun symbols for Elena first. I assume all the symbols are easily seen, is that correct, Kat?”

“Yeah,” replied the Psi-Thief. “They’re located right down the center of the hallway, engraved in the floor, just like the scarabs were.”

“Okay. Ash, give me your scimitar.” Petals held out a hand. The Green Golem extended his tail, and his scimitar appeared in it. She took it from him.

A second scimitar materialized in the Green Golem’s grasp. “I had two of them.”

Petals had forgotten that little detail. She took his second weapon. “Elena, give your rifle to Cherri, please.” She waited while the transfer was made. “Do either of you have anything else that can be used as a weapon?”

Elena shook her head. Ash held up his flashlight.

“Give Elena the flashlight.” Petals blew out a long breath. “Okay. Ash, fortunately, without a scimitar, there’s not much you can do to hurt Elena. You’ll go ahead of her, and when you’re close to the first sun symbol, you’ll be compelled to Oust the spirit from it. Assuming we’re right about the sun symbol being meant for Elena, she’ll be compelled to accept the offered boon, and you’ll be compelled to stop her, but it's doubtful you'll be able. She’ll get the boon and then move on to the next sun symbol, where the two of you will repeat the process. Assuming everything works as expected, you'll both continue down the hall until Elena has received buffs from all four sun symbols. Then you’ll come back, and we’ll figure out how to trigger the scarabs for Tara and Cherri before we move on to the clover symbols. Sound like a plan?”

Handing his flashlight to Elena, Ash leaped to the floor from his perch at Tara’s neck. “Sounds good to me.”

“I’m excited.” Elena turned on the flashlight and aimed it down the hallway. “After you, Ash.”

The others watched from the intersection. Ash slithered along the floor, Elena right on his tail, shining the light. At the spot where Kat had found the first sun symbol, Ash went into action, striking and then shouting, “Oust.”

The flashlight shed its light on a barefoot, shirtless male figure dressed in white pants, the ends of a white cloth belt hanging from his waist. He struck a martial artist pose. “Who will accept my gift?”

Elena knelt before the figure, bowing her head. “I accept your gift.”

Ash whipped Elena with his tail, but it was of no consequence.

A compulsion to stop Elena rose inside Petals, but she successfully resisted. Cherri took a step forward, as though she intended to intervene in some way, but she stopped herself.

Kat brought her rifle to hand and aimed down the hallway.

A wall materialized in front of those observing. Kat lowered her rifle, cursing. She looked for a way around the wall, but there was none. It stretched across the entire width of the hallway.

Petals exchanged a knowing glance with Tara. The Illusionist had put up the wall, and it had been enough to thwart the possessed Kat from taking a shot at Elena.

“Then you will have my gift,” said the voice of the shirtless male from beyond the illusionary wall.

The green-skinned Psi-Thief blinked at the rifle in her hands. “What am I…? Oh, goodness, tell me I didn’t shoot someone.” She noticed the wall. “Where’s Elena and Ash?”

Petals took hold of Kat’s rifle. “Let me take this until they get back, please.”

Kat let go. “The symbol affected me all the way from here?”

Petals nodded. “Remind me what your Spiritual Defense score is.”

“Zero.”

“That explains it then.” Petals frowned. “Most of us have at least two points in Spiritual Defense. I think Cherri only has one.”

“That’s right, I do,” said the Moon Priestess. “If I’d been closer, I don’t think I could have resisted the compulsion to interfere.”

“If we don’t watch,” Petals said, “maybe we won’t be affected at all.”

Kat showed no signs of possession when the group next heard Ash’s “Oust.”

“Line of sight does matter, as I suspected,” Tara said.

They waited patiently through the process of Elena gaining four gifts.

“No, Elena,” cried Ash. Running footsteps sounded in the distance.

Tara’s illusionary wall sizzled and separated into its individual molecules, vanishing.

The flashlight Elena had been carrying no longer shone. The group said nothing, straining to listen, but the sound of running footsteps had ceased.

“Where the hell did they go?” Kat grabbed her rifle back from Petals. “Come on. We have to make sure they’re okay.” She hurried down the hall, shining her light before her.

“Kat, wait,” Petals called, but the Psi-Thief wasn’t listening. “Let’s go, ladies.” The Pink Wizard sped after Kat. The others followed, Tara’s globe of magical light illuminating their way.

Running down the hall, they passed the locations of the sun symbols, but the symbols were all gone, the floor smooth where they’d been. The far end of the hallway lay only ten feet beyond where the fourth symbol had been. Elena and Ash were nowhere to be seen. Instead, an open doorway beckoned the group at the end of the hall. Kat didn’t hesitate, but barged through, disappearing into darkness.

“Go on in, Tara.” Petals waved the Illusionist ahead. “You have the light. Cherri, you’re next, for defense.” Petals followed the Moon Priestess, and Greta, as usual, brought up the rear.

They followed a twisting hallway only three feet wide, slowing them from a run to a hurried walk. They passed through numerous intersections, but the Psi-Thief in lead didn’t hesitate at any of them.

“How do you know which way to go, Kat?” Petals called as she made a ninety degree turn at an intersection.

“I’m using Locate Object on Elena’s flashlight.”

They abruptly entered a huge dome filled with ambient light, with no source for the light evident. In the center of the room, Elena stood before a marble pedestal, her skin as yellow as a perfectly ripe banana. Wrapped about her neck, Ash thrashed his tail. If he was trying to choke her, it seemed to be having no effect.

On the pedestal rested a severed hand. Elena reached for it.

“No, Elena.” Petals aimed her staff, intending to cast her Move spell to push Elena away from the hand, but her mind fumbled with finding the appropriate words to say.

“Stop, Elena,” called Cherri, understanding as well as Petals that the Shooter was doing the wrong thing. According to what Kat had told them earlier, this hand was Gondra's left hand, not his right, and Gondra had specifically instructed them to fetch his right hand.

Her left hand still reaching for the severed one lying on the pedestal, Elena froze, paralyzed by Cherri's magic.

Petals sighed in relief.

The severed left hand rose onto the tips of its fingers, which bunched as though they were legs. The severed hand leapt from the pedestal towards Elena’s paralyzed, outstretched hand and clasped it as though for a handshake.